


I'd Like To Be Your Answer

by SoftServedBoy



Category: Great Pretender (Anime)
Genre: Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Great Pretender - Freeform, Injury, Lots of love poured into this one, M/M, Near Death Experiences, This is gonna be a project yall, gonna be lots of feelings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:47:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27144745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoftServedBoy/pseuds/SoftServedBoy
Summary: Laurent drags Makoto along to the United States, once again, to help in a heist that takes them all the way down South to Dallas, Texas in hopes of disbanding a wealthy conglomerate of kidnappers, and maybe finding something they were looking for along the way.
Relationships: Abigail Jones & Cynthia Moore (Great Pretender), Edamura Makoto/Laurent Thierry
Comments: 4
Kudos: 95





	1. Bluestars

An inky darkness was the only thing Makoto could make out in his line of vision- a scatter of stars maybe, but certainly not the ones to wish upon. He could feel himself being pulled faster, harder, towards the abyss of confusion and uncertainty. Reaching out a hand, dried and cold, it was met with the opposite. Slender fingers ever so certain and gentle, but most of all warm. It pulled him back from the plummet and spoke to him.

“Don’t go, not yet.”

.

“I told you, I’m done. After last time I felt like horse-shit and I promised myself an easy-going life, and you know I did because you were fucking there”. 

Makoto pulled up weeds from where a gathering of Bluestars bloomed in rich, smelly, fresh soil. His yellow gardening gloves were caked in dirt along with a small fitting apron and wrinkled sun hat that let a few strands of sweaty black hairs fall upon his equally sweaty face.

It was spring in Takayama, Japan. Vendors adorned the sidelines of various market-places in hopes of bringing in tourist revenue and what not, offering samples of fresh vegetables and home-made meals, shouting across the bundled streets of people wondering who their next customer would be. Makoto loved it here, to him it was just what he has been looking for after a life of scandals and robbing others, even if it was seen as justified in the concept of “morals”. He felt at home with his hands buried under pounds of warm soil, the birthplace of precious flowers and fruits that he grew during this time of year. They felt like the only source of any reality to him.

“You say that, but just wait until I explain the intricacies, Edamame”. 

Laurent was dressed in a dark blue, almost midnight looking suit. His hair had gotten longer, in fact, long enough to apparently twist into one long braid. The braid trailed just to the end of his neck, tied off with a black fabric and shone a velvety blonde as it always seemed to. His smile was full of secrets and expectation as always, and his light eyelashes fluttered above those hazy blue eyes. 

Makoto stayed crouched, not willing to look Laurent in the eyes to save his sanity. Laurent took it upon himself to crouch down close, almost too close, toying with the Bluestars in-between his fingers delicately and calculated. Makoto weirdly appreciated the way the petals seemed to dance on Laurent’s fingertips, as if they fell under his spell as well. They stayed like that for a few minutes, crouched, as Laurent observed the way Makoto worked his forearm into the soil to plant a few small seeds below, wiping the sweat off his brow often enough to dirty his face a little more each time. 

It felt tense, the both of them in a still, silent air together after half a year of not even hearing from one another. This happened every time Laurent stalked Makoto to tug him into yet another plan. Creative opportunity. Scam. The ominous bastard would show up out of seemingly thin air and speak his existence into Makoto’s life one more infuriating time, offering the exact opposite of what he’d want, and make it seem like that was the only life he was capable of. 

Makoto kept at his work, “You should just leave now. I have nothing to offer you”. His arms were tired and the sun just peeked over tall mountains, laying itself to sleep just as Makoto wanted to. Laurent followed en suite as Makoto stood up and brushed debris off his ill-fitting apron. A hand fell atop Makoto’s shoulder making him pause for a minute before continuing inside the cozy flower shop he had opened up a month after arriving in Takayama. It wasn’t anything extravagant inside, mostly small aisles catering to different planting needs, seeds and cheap tools. Behind the counter there were a scattering of all different types of flowers- Jasmine, Hibiscus, Begonias just to name a few. Makoto strolled to where they were, picking up a watering-can and delicately sprinkling drops on their soft petals. Laurent watched him as he methodically went along with his daily routine, following him like a cat purring for attention. 

“It’s quite lovely here, I could see how you’d enjoy all this”, Laurent’s words rolled off his tongue in a calm manner, his accent slipping out. There seemed no need to keep it in while visiting with Makoto. He leisurely scanned the place, understanding how much of it seemed like Makoto, really. 

“I’m about to close shop, so please, leave.” 

A glint of sunlight danced on top of Laurent’s light hair and outlined his face, a sparkle of it hitting his eyes. Makoto hated how Laurent reminded him so much of a ghost, or maybe a spirit, tailing him, wanting something he never wanted to offer. They stood face to face, their faces contradictory to the other. Makoto sighed, taking off his apron, “I don’t want to join you, Laurent. Seriously. Everytime you swindle me into your little ‘games’, I continue a life I don’t want to live. I like it here. I like having my biggest problems be wondering if I’m watering my plants enough or not- not wondering if I’m an inch closer to having my brains blown out by some mafioso.” The older man’s expression softened into something smoother, wiping the smile off his face. Almost. Laurent extended a hand towards Makoto, expectant and full of the future. It’s funny, Makoto thought, that one hand out-stretched towards him held so much more significance than anyone would know. 

“I won’t stress you any further. How about I treat you to dinner, Edamame.” It wasn’t as much of a question as it was a beckon for him to follow as he always seemed to. He was pretty hungry, the burns of acid making its way from his stomach to his chest after working meticulously all day. Just because the blonde asshole offered him a meal doesn’t mean he’d fall into his trap like some kind of elaborate hunt. Right?

Makoto hung his head tiredly, “Fine, but I get to pick since you’ve been annoying me for the past hour or so, asshole”. Despite being declared an asshole, Laurent’s smile widened and the corners of his eyes wrinkled. “Sounds fair. Where to, Edamame?” Makoto swatted the hand away, Laurent tucking it back in his pocket.

“There’s this place nearby that makes Takayama style ramen. It’s expensive. Also, how long will it take for you to stop calling me that fucking ridiculous name?” 

“Not until the sun explodes, my dear Edamame.”

Makoto groaned, frustrated as they made their way down the road to their first destination, one of many in the near future for these two members of Team Confidence.


	2. Purple Hyacinths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laurent offers Makoto to dinner and reveals why he had been pursuing him again.

The night air was slightly muggy and uncomfortable, streaming in through the open seated ramen shop Makoto decided on. Laurent had taken off his jacket, indicating some sort of comfort in the presence of someone he knew, even though Makoto would argue about that claim. They both sat next to each other slurping on well-sized bowls of home-made steaming ramen, almost forgetting for a second about what they were both there for. It never surprised Makoto just how much of a messy and indigent eater Laurent was, covering his face with pork broth and slurping loud enough to make Makoto want to slap him. 

“Why am I even eating dinner with you”. Makoto scoffed at himself quietly, but just loud enough to get the older man’s attention. Laurent turned towards him with a face stuffed and smiled, “Becauf we’re parfners!” Makoto wanted to slug the blonde so bad. “Can’t you at least chew and swallow before answering? Pretty disgusting". Laurent had ordered the both of them some sake to sip on, “celebrating” their coming together once more, and he had already finished two while Makoto nursed on his first one. 

Laurent snorted, something he only did when he became tipsy, “My dear, dear Edamame. This isn’t supposed to be something formal, aren’t friends allowed to unwind near each other?” Makoto glared at him while putting a spoonful of chicken broth in his mouth. What did he think this was? Some sort of outing worth being happy over? The bastard wanted him to risk his life again getting involved in something that he, a regular civilian, should mind his own business about. A hand hooked around his neck and patted his cheek, “Aww, don’t look so upset Edamame. You know I wouldn’t fly all the way from France in one day to ask someone unimportant about a great, life-changing opportunity!” It had been sort of weird, Makoto thought. Usually when he got wound up in these situations Laurent would set it up to where Makoto would have no idea what he was getting into, voluntary or not. This seemed pretty on-the-nose for someone like Laurent Theirry. It was suspicious, something not to be trusted. 

Flinging the arm away, the younger man grunted and became frustrated, “Why like this?”, Laurent blinked in an innocent sort of confusion, adding to the stupidity of his already drunken state. “Why like what?” he questioned genuinely, taking Makoto off-guard. “You know… Why did you approach me directly about this? Usually you secretly fuck over any sort of life I have going on and find it absurdly funny, for some awful reason.” Makoto put his hand on his chin and stared out into the dark market-place street, forgetting his ramen. 

Laurent took his free hand and patted it, an oddly warm look on his face. This was weird. Even though he downed almost three shots of sake, the man’s expression wasn’t conniving for who he was or the altered state he was in. He let go of Makoto’s hand and leaned against the bar, head tilted back as he took a deep breath. 

“Despite it being warmer here than France, I do enjoy how it feels. Like a real spring. It makes me feel as if I’m blooming along with the flowers”, Laurent closed his eyes. Makoto just observed him quizzically, tiredness creeping up on his body settling in among the sake. He turned away. 

“You’re so fucking weird”. Laurent turned to him, “You do love using that word”. Makoto just rubbed a hand across his face and sank into his crossed arms, “It’s cathartic, like Abby says. Maybe it’s the one thing we can agree on”. Laurent stayed quiet as he turned back to the bar, holding up a hand and asking for the check in Japanese. The shop-keeper shot up in surprise at the accuracy of the frenchman’s dialect, almost knocking over the purple hyacinths he was tending to.

There was something so perfectly frustrating about Laurent Theirry, everyone who knew him would absolutely agree on that. The way he worked, it was always so intentional and almost never natural, as if he was living his entire life on the stages of Broadway. In a way it made sense- the man’s entire job was to act like someone he wasn’t, someone he’d never met, and maybe that eventually sank into his personal life as well. The first time Makoto had taken a look at Laurent, it was like he was looking at a puzzle where pieces had gone missing. A part of him, after all these years, still wanted to find those pieces, wherever they had been hiding. Makoto thought through this while Laurent generously paid for their meal, hoping that some higher-being wasn’t transmitting his inner thoughts into Laurent’s head. Even if that happened, Laurent would keep it to himself, he knew that much.

Leaving the shop, the both of them stood across from the other for a few seconds before Laurent handed Makoto a piece of paper and a throw-away phone. He hadn’t even confirmed his involvement, yet, he knew the better part of Makoto that even Makoto tried to avoid coming to terms with. 

So there he was. Laurent’s trap was a success, he had earned himself another catch. 

Makoto begrudgingly grabbed the items and stuffed them into his pockets. Laurent walked closer, placing a hand on the smaller man’s shoulder just as he did a few hours ago when he grew like a weed back into Makoto’s life. 

“I’ll come clean to you. You and I are, so far, the only people involved in what I have planned.” 

“What?” 

“I told you didn’t I, that once you let me explain you’d become interested”. He took the hand off his shoulder as Makoto’s expression transformed into something more concerned. “Look, I know what you’re thinking- without big sisters Abby and Cynthia guiding you, how are we going to go through with this-” Makoto interjected, annoyed, “No, I’m thinking ‘oh, great. Now the self-absorbed, pompous asshole is making me risk my life even further’. You know I didn’t even agree to anything yet, right? I could smash this phone right here and get on with my life away from you”. He had raised his voice loud enough to draw a complaint in broken English from the shop-keeper, “Don’t care about divorce! Get the hell out!” 

Laurent doubled over laughing his ass off while Makoto stammered an apology hurriedly in Japanese to the shop-keeper, confirming over and over that him and the dumb foreigner were, in fact, not married. 

Wiping tears away from his eyes, the taller man gathered his composure once more, “I guess we’re not even partners anymore, we’re married”. Makoto punched him in the arm as hard as his feeble strength would allow, “That is not funny!” “Well, I for one thought it was priceless to see the look on your face”. Laurent made kissy noises to him while he shoved his face away. 

They headed further from the shop to respect the shop-keepers wishes and to talk somewhere more private. “I meant what I said, asshole.” He was hostile but mostly tired at this point, his day was long and Laurent was drawing it out longer. Laurent leaned against the wall of the shop they had stopped in front of, no lights to offer what his expression was. 

He sighed, looking down. “Abby is in danger.” 

Makoto’s chest felt tight, it was unpleasant and unwelcomed. The word “danger” was something that had lit up his instincts, like an animal wanting to spring away as fast as possible to avoid the blood-thristy jaws of something terrible. 

“W-what… What do you mean?” Makoto’s hands started shaking and he could feel his blood turn icy.

Laurent turned his head slightly towards the moon, allowing it to reflect his eyes and the silhouette of his face. Makoto was blown away. Small tears pricked at the corners of his shut eyes, his brows furrowed in a mixture of hurt and anger. Makoto took a step back, trying to collect his thoughts, balling his fists in an attempt to hold onto reality. The other man turned his head back into the darkness, keeping quiet.

“Laurent! What danger?” Makoto squeaked out, his vocal cords tightening in pain.

The gleam to those blue eyes recast into a pale haze when Makoto met them again . 

“It’s all my fault”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After writing more, I'm starting to get a better feel of how I want this story to play out and I'm super excited for that. I hope that my characterizations are kind of accurate, as I don't really feel like watching the show over again lol. Hope you guys enjoy! Hopefully I'm able to write the next chapter soon <3


	3. Petunias

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laurent and Makoto try to understand what Abby's disappearance means to them.

Makoto stood frozen in front of the darkened figure of Laurent leaning against the brick wall. What had he said again? Someone was in trouble? His mind had a hard time wrapping around exactly who he’d been talking about. 

Surely Abby was fine. Surely this was another trick to rope him into yet another brilliantly planned scheme with Team Confidence. Abby was somewhere with Cynthia, awaiting the arrival of both men to join back in the team and get going with whatever- both of the women sipping on the finest wine, joking about how Makoto’s personality represented that of a virgin. Makoto scoffed loudly, chuckling maliciously to himself. 

“You really think I believe that Bullshit, Laurent? Abby, getting kidnapped”, he put a hand against his forehead, dragging his fingers through his hair, “C’mon, you could’ve come up with something way better than that. Abby getting kidnapped”, he repeated to himself once more, laughing, “Good one, real nice one. You can’t trick me this time”. 

“Trick you?” His voice was that of pure venom. His tongue spit out the words harshly and through gritted teeth. Laurent moved out of his shadow and into the moonlight, where Makoto could see the nasty expression his eyebrows knitted his face into, “Why would I joke about this, out of all things. This is not a fucking joke, I’ll have you know”. Makoto stepped back, almost stumbling over a pot of petunias that lined one of the other shops. He was shocked, he knew the man was capable of some human emotions, but this was new and surprised him like a firework being set off. The way Laurent reacted reminded Makoto of a mother bear trying to protect its cubs. Terrifying. 

“I-I’m-” The younger man’s words seemed to be caught in his throat, tangled up with the rest of whatever it was he was feeling. He balled his fists. He had a right to react that way to Laurent’s words, the man had a habit of lying to him almost yearly in order to get him to join the team, it was only fair that he thought it was another one of Laurent’s plans. He pointed a finger at the older man, “It’s only damn fair for me to react that way! You bullshit me all the time, and now you come to me out of nowhere saying Abby, of all people, has been kidnapped?!”, his voice cracked along with the words. Laurent only gripped his arms as they were crossed. 

It looked as if the words stung Laurent more than Makoto thought possible. The man had been so unbelievably resilient before, did he not trust in the strength of Abby? Did Makoto’s words actually affect him that bad? His mind raced with different meanings of the situation, he felt like it could pop at any second. Laurent sighed and released the tension. “I guess it is only fair you reacted that way, and I seem to deserve it as well”, he stepped further out of the building’s shadow, “- But this is a real situation. Abby has been kidnapped, all the way in America nonetheless”. Makoto stepped out alongside him, for some reason feeling the need to provide the asshole with some comfort. They stood there, under the soft moonlight that streamed through the sky, quiet towards each other as they observed the stars. Laurent raked his fingers along his tightly pulled hair, he was tired and his face showed it. To Makoto, this was a side of Laurent he’d never seen personally. The man looked torn emotionally, and even though he was lavishly dressed, he was obviously in need of some rest and maybe a shower. Makoto debated inside his head for a while as they contemplated both of their situations. Laurent was a smarmy, two-timing bastard, Makoto knew that much, but there was something about the man next to him, something different that made him want to give reassurance to the other. They’d both been through a lot together over the years- conquering a drug syndicate in Los Angeles, flying planes over Singapore, creating a forgery of a priceless art piece in London- it seemed at least understandable that he felt the need to be by Laurent’s side once more.

Makoto moved in front of the other man, hands in his pockets, “I’m scared too, Laurent”, his tone was calm, “when you pieced together the words ‘Abby’ and ‘danger’ in the same sentence, it was sort of unbelievable. I guess I lashed out when I shouldn’t have, and maybe shouldn’t have been an asshole about it either. If Abby really is in danger, really in need of our help, I’ll join you. You don’t need to convince me anymore”. He looked at the ground and took a deep breath. Everything he convinced himself of over the past year was blown away just like that. Sure, he kept great care of every flower he could, and sure, he’d created a life for himself that his mother would be proud of- but he couldn’t count on all of his fingers and toes how many times Abby was there to save his clumsy ass. If it weren’t for her, he’d probably be dead in the ground at this very moment. She was there for him even if she didn’t want to be, and no one had ever given Makoto that kind of weird respect in his life ever. He wanted to be the one to pay her back and say they were even. 

Looking back up into the endless expanse of the night sky, he was embraced by a pair of squeezing arms, warm and tight. Laurent engulfed the smaller man with a hug, bringing Makoto’s face into the nape of his neck. Makoto was startled at first, but then overcame the stubbornness inside himself to hesitantly bring his own arms around Laurent. The connection was something Makoto didn’t know he needed. He lived his life mostly by himself, occasionally inviting a friend or two to go out for dinner and a drink, but he was lonely. His mother always gave the best hugs, and that’s what this reminded him of. Whenever he’d come home with a bad grade his mother would console him, assure him that it wasn’t the end of everything. Or if he scraped his knees playing around, she’d hold him close and tend to the wound. Laurent offered something in the hug that Makoto willingly accepted. 

Once they separated, it was a bit awkward. Both of them stood quietly, unsure of what was to come next in this impossible situation. Laurent gave a warm smile and, to his own surprise, Makoto gave one back. And then they broke out in laughter. Was this really the time to do that? Laurent’s eyes were glazed over with a sadness that couldn’t be shaken yet, but there was also a light to them that gave Makoto hope. Maybe accepting his proposition wasn’t completely full of bullshit this time, it had a real substance, a real urgency and meaning to it this time, and Makoto felt like he knew what Laurent was thinking. They were a team, and if one was in danger, the others would come rushing through, despite anything Abby could claim about being lone wolves. In reality they were all connected whether they liked it or not, and right now it felt right. It felt real. Him, Laurent, Cynthia, and Abby were a group of unique individuals who were brought together by what seemed like fate. If this was the last “confidence” task handed to Makoto, he would accept it valiantly. 

Makoto started down the moonlit road. Looking over his shoulder, he shot Laurent a determined look, “what’s the plan”. Laurent followed once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter feels like sort of a filler to me, but I really just wanted to flesh out the emotions in the both of them a little more. Next chapter will definitely be more story than anything. Hopefully lol. We'll see. Thanks for reading! <3


	4. Update!

Just an update about where I am with this fic- to be honest, I haven't even started on chapter 4 yet, but after re-reading what I've already written and taking a break to focus on school and work, I think I'm ready to write again! I don't know how fast I can get these chapters out, as I want to make this story pretty fleshed out and full of emotion and personality. Really just wanted to write this to tell y'all that I definitely haven't forgotten about this, and I'm definitely taking my time to make it good :)

**Author's Note:**

> The title comes from some lyrics in "my future" by Billie Eilish because it gives big Edurent vibes. I'm hoping I can be successful with this fic, as I plan on going pretty far and in depth with it despite figuring out some establishing things while writing this currently lol. Anyways, look at for more chapters in the future! <3 (Chapter 1 is pretty short, but I'm still figuring out how to work this.


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